Monthly Archives: February 2005

Okay, so I’m working on a new, secret blog. I haven’t even given anyone its address (don’t worry, you’ll be notified of its existence soon enough). I put up a couple sample posts, just so something would be “there” as … Continue reading →

This morning I attended my wife’s church, as I always do when she’s involved in the music program there (she’s a wonderful oboe player, and I’d never miss a chance to hear her perform [or lead worship, as Presbyterians call … Continue reading →

Most schools of literary criticism suggest that it’s fruitless to attempt to consider what the intentions of the author are; we can only examine the “text” itself: it is the only solid evidence we have. Similarly, critics toss up their … Continue reading →

Fair warning: I’m writing about this question with my “ordinary guy” hat, not my “psychology writer” hat. Over at Macrumors they’re talking about whether just anyone can program a computer, or if it takes a special kind of mind to … Continue reading →

A couple weeks back, I posted a rant about Marshall McLuhan. Basically I was arguing that while the medium may be the message, the medium isn’t the only message. There was a fair bit of commentary on my post, both … Continue reading →

On Sunday when I was driving through town, I noticed there were a few bedsheets strung from some of the trees along the road. Most of them were painted with some kind of message like “We love you, JoAnne.” I … Continue reading →

Today Alas, a Blog has a discussion thread for “feminists only.” It’s an interesting concept, attempting to enforce rules on a blog discussion. It’s not that all blogs don’t have at least some level of rules. For example, John Scalzi … Continue reading →

Today’s reading is “Artists as Experts in Visual Cognition,” by Aaron Kozbelt of the University of Chicago (Visual Cognition, 2001). We need to incorporate many skills in order to make visual sense of the world. We must be able to … Continue reading →

Kevin Drum is advocating a means by which Social Security could be privatized in a meaningful way. As he points out, if reasonable leaders were seriously advocating such a plan, he could get behind it. The problem is, Drum admits … Continue reading →

Slashdot pointed me to this blog designed solely to maximize advertising income. Apparently its proprietor, Michael Buffington, designed the blog as an experiment. He spends about an hour a day culling links from Google News searches on asbestos, a topic … Continue reading →

How do we tell where an object is in a three-dimensional world when our eye only gives us two dimensions worth of information? Today’s reading (“Moving Cast Shadows Induce Apparent Motion in Depth” by Daniel Kersten, Pascal Mamassian, and David … Continue reading →

I should say that I do not like fiddling with technology. I like technology, but I like it to WORK. I get no enjoyment out of the debugging process. Nonetheless, I was all psyched to set up my home network … Continue reading →

There’s been quite a discussion over at Uncertain Principles that relates to my Salman Rushdie-inspired diatribe last week on literary criticism. Chad Orzel took the opportunity to riff off my suggestion that students be taught close reading before they are … Continue reading →

When I was in Rome last summer, one of the most amusing and surreal moments was at the Colosseum, where at least a dozen couples were attempting to take wedding photos. I tried to take a photo of the people … Continue reading →

Today’s reading is “Prior Knowledge on the Illlumination Position” by Pascal Mamassian and Ross Goutcher of the University of Glasgow (Cognition, 2001 [PDF link]). When we see an embossed seal such as a notary stamp, how do we know which … Continue reading →

Brad DeLong is quoting a long explanation of the Bush Social Security plan by Matthew Yglesias The White House says the average worker can expect a 4.6 percent real rate of return on his private account. Under explanation two, this … Continue reading →

You didn’t think I was going to leave the Salman Rushdie thing alone after just one post, did you? I was intrigued by the social aspects of Rushdie’s visit, but he did have some interesting things to say as well. … Continue reading →